Dreaming of better

At the age of 23, Moore has experienced a litany of horrific
events occur before her very eyes. Even before she was born, her father
sexually abused his daughter, resulting in Moore’s birth. Soon, she entered the
foster care system where she lost trust in the adults who surrounded her. As an
adult, Moore fell into sexual exploitation, an umbrella term that includes
human trafficking, prostitution and rape.

Moore was a bold and opinionated child who lacked structure
and stability.

“I was broken,” she says. “At the age of four, I was not
willing to let anyone close to my heart.”

Eventually adopted, Moore was quickly ostracized by the same
family who took her in.

“I was told it would be best if I were not a part of their
family any longer,” she remembers. “I was hard to be around.”

Through a series of difficult events, Moore ended up in a
relationship with a man who drugged her with methamphetamine and isolated her
from people she knew.

“I was dragged out to the desert and beaten with a two by
four,” Moore recalls. “He was going to leave me there to die.” When it turned
out his car would not start, Moore was the one to walk to a nearby dairy to
contact police. In another unfortunate turn, drugs were found on her person. Moore
was arrested and later released, while the man walked away free.

Her abuser then locked her up in a hotel room in a seedy
section of Phoenix. Little did Moore know, this would introduce her to the
Phoenix Dream Center, which she says saved her life.

“I honestly think he was an angel, or a cop,” Moore says of
the man who eventually came to her rescue. “He complained that he could hear my
boyfriend throwing me around and he couldn’t stand it anymore.”

This sliver of chance gave Moore the drive to save herself.

“My abuser left the room for about 30 minutes,” she says. “I
don’t know what came over me, but I made a break for it and I ran.”

Moore called the Phoenix Dream Center, an organization that
Moore had heard of from other girls in the same dire straits. Volunteers from
the Phoenix Dream Center showed up to the hotel and took Moore away. She was
finally safe.

The Phoenix Dream Center, a volunteer-driven non-profit
organization, offers outreach programs such as Sophia’s House for young
pregnant women, Where Hope Lives which serves as a haven for young women
removed from sex trafficking, and Church on the Street, a faith-based recovery
program for former inmates.

Rescue services, rehabilitation programs, affordable
housing, and food distribution are also a part of The Phoenix Dream Center,
according to Moore.

After graduating from the program, Moore became a member of
the staff. She says girls arrive to the program as young as 14 years old. “Some
stay a night, some stay a week,” she adds. “Almost always, they come back.” She
says that some people are not ready or are not used to living with structure.

According to Moore, statistics show that 80 percent of women
involved in human trafficking are products of the foster care system. “When
you’re not used to having love and stability, your life is chaos,” she says.
“The Phoenix Dream Center makes sure these women feel loved, which is so
foreign to them.”

Hannah, who wished to withhold her last name, shares very
similar experiences with Moore. She has received support from Where Hope Lives
and The Phoenix Dream Center.

Kidnapped at the age of 23, Hannah was drugged and taken out
of state. “There was a period of 24 hours that I was mentally coherent,” she
says. “I woke up in a warehouse with a group of other girls.”

Now 25 years old, Hannah says she had been in and out of The
Phoenix Dream Center many times before returning permanently.

Various branches of The Phoenix Dream Center focus on
different aspects of recovery and assistance.

Church on the Street, another program under The Phoenix
Dream Center’s umbrella, provides a bible boot camp, Moore says. The program
has grown to the point that it will be housed in its own building.

“We have so many people coming in, we just need more room,” she
adds. Church on the Street preaches faith-based curriculum. Despite its
Christian roots, Moore believes religion should not be pushed on any one.

“It’s a voluntary program that teaches men and women how to
form a relationship with God,” she says. “It’s up to the individual.”

Moore adds that Where Hope Lives assists girls who wish to
receive their GED, offers them access to doctors and even legal help.

Young women receive a mentor upon entrance of Where Hope
Lives, according to Moore.

“Mentors will guide the girls through different areas of
life,” she says, adding that there are several pillars unique to Where Hope
Lives that give women structured stability.

The four pillars include New Life, Heal, Perseverance and
Conquer and lead women down a path to recovery.

“If a woman strays from her path, there are repercussions,”
Moore says. “That is a separate category, Redirection.” Each pillar requires
certain criteria to be met before moving to the next.

“Women are allowed more freedoms, the farther they go,”
Moore says. “If they show they are capable and responsible, they are given more
freedom.” The third pillar for example, requires women to build a resume for
future employment opportunities. The fourth pillar allows the women to keep a
cell phone.

A common possession for most, cell phones provide a kind of
accessibility that the women residing at The Phoenix Dream Center are not
always exposed to, which can be dangerous, according to Moore.

“Communication with those who are not in the program can be
difficult,” she says. “And you can find anything on the internet.”

Upon completion of each pillar, and graduation from The Phoenix
Dream Center’s program, men and women are able to stay for one year in the
facility, according to Moore. “80 percent of those who leave the program fail,”
she says. “We are trying to change that.”

Pam Huggins, a volunteer with the Phoenix Dream Center, has
rescued women like Moore and Hannah off the street by bringing them to the
facility. “We will get calls from girls who are scared and want to be picked
up,” Huggins says. “When they walk in to the Phoenix Dream Center, we give them
fresh clothes and food.”

Funding for the Phoenix Dream Center is provided by donations,
according to Huggins.

Huggins says the Phoenix Dream Center provides the tools
needed for women to succeed, and to change their paths for the better. “I’ve
seen women come in off the street broken and battered,” she says. “The Phoenix
Dream Center’s ultimate goal is to save these women from harm.”

The Phoenix Dream Center provides tools, resources and
shelter to those who wish to provide a better life for themselves, like Hannah
and Moore.

“The love and support those who enter the program receive is
amazing,” Moore says. “It’s amazing to watch men and women grow into the people
they want to become.”